ExxonMobil’s Event at the DNC Raises Red Flags: What is Big Oil Doing in Chicago?
CHICAGO – On the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), ExxonMobil is sponsoring an event on Wednesday featuring the American Gas Association, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX 7th District), and at least one executive from the company itself. The event is causing climate and human rights advocacy groups to sound the alarm about Big Oil’s attempts to shape the policies of the Democratic Party.
The final Democratic Party platform formally adopted on Monday includes two separate references to repealing fossil fuel subsidies. This comes as ExxonMobil ramps up its lobbying machinery to preserve at least $110 billion in special interest industry tax breaks ahead of major tax legislation coming in 2025.
“The DNC platform rightly calls for the repeal of $110 billion in fossil fuel subsidies that have lined Big Oil’s pockets for decades,” said Lukas Ross, Deputy Climate & Energy Director at Friends of the Earth Action, “Dinosaurs like ExxonMobil are scared of losing their precious tax loopholes under a Harris administration. Any fossil fuel company looking to peddle influence in Chicago should be shown the door.”
ExxonMobil has a long and controversial history of lobbying for policies that benefit the fossil fuel industry at the expense of a safe climate and public health. This was starkly evident when the company joined Republican candidate for president Donald Trump at his infamous Mar-a-Lago energy summit, where he “encouraged attendees, including representatives of ExxonMobil, collectively to raise $1 billion for his 2024 presidential campaign because he would, in exchange, roll back environmental regulations, hasten permitting and leasing approvals, and preserve or enhance tax benefits that the industry enjoys.”
ExxonMobil has not been shy about fighting to ensure GOP control of Congress. Already this election cycle, Exxon executives and the company’s PAC have contributed $111,500 to the two leading Republican congressional campaign committees. This is more than triple the Exxon’s contributions to the leading Democratic campaign committees.
“ExxonMobil and Donald Trump have already committed to each other – so why is the company sneaking around the DNC?” said RL Miller, DNC Member and Political Director at Climate Hawks Vote, “We call on party leaders and attendees to end the involvement of fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil in the political process. Instead, our government must deliver clean, affordable energy that is tailored to our communities, supports workers to transition to new jobs, and helps regions that have been deliberately sacrificed to toxic pollution and climate chaos. Instead of fossil fuel profits, Democrats must prioritize making the world a healthier, more equitable place and electing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable.”
In 2021, Greenpeace exposed ExxonMobil lobbyists on tape expressing concern that President Biden’s landmark climate legislation could, “Take away [their] favorable tax treatment.” The final DNC platform calls for the repeal of at least $110 billion in fossil fuel subsidies – some of which have been on the books for over a hundred years. With the impending expiration of the Trump tax cuts in 2025, it’s possible that ExxonMobil has come to the DNC because of renewed fears a Democratic tax deal could do away with their lucrative fossil fuel subsidies. ExxonMobil recently hired former Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden staffers working for the Empire Consulting Group. Perhaps in preparation for the coming tax fight in 2025, the new lobbyists have a mandate to advocate on “…oil and gas, the environment, and taxation.”
Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher’s participation in the upcoming event alongside ExxonMobil raises additional concerns. In 2021, she held the Biden-Harris administration’s agenda hostage with six other conservative Democrats, demanding climate legislation leave intact billions in special interest tax breaks. Her actions were met with public praise from oil lobbyists, who even ran advertisements thanking her for her leadership.
“No major oil and gas company is pledging to do the bare minimum to prevent climate chaos,” said Collin Rees, Political Director of Oil Change U.S. “Fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil are moving in the opposite direction of the Democratic Party, whose platform is clear on the need to end public money for oil and gas production. ExxonMobil continues to invest billions in new oil and gas, all while spreading misinformation and lobbying against meaningful climate policies. Exxon should have no platform at the DNC.”
“Companies like Exxon should have no place at the DNC,” said Stevie O’Hanlon, Sunrise Communications Director. “Exxon has spent decades misleading the public about the climate crisis and buying off politicians. If the Democratic Party wants to be taken seriously by our generation on climate change, they need to walk the talk.”
Communications contact: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org